Talking About HoF for MLB Players Under the Age of 28? Really?

July 25, 2011July 25, 2011Danny Vinik 3 Comments

Today on ESPN Boston, Joe McDonald wrote an article contemplating Dustin Pedroia’s chances of reaching the Hall of Fame.

Anyone else think this is a decade too soon?

McDonald does temper the article by saying,” Obviously, Pedroia has a long way to go before he can even be mentioned in the same breath as the Hall of Fame.” But nevertheless, he goes on to compare Pedroia’s stats through his first five full seasons with Roberto Alomar, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame this past weekend.

Alomar and Pedroia’s stats are similar in their first five seasons, but that’s not the point. Pedroia is a great player right now. Ten more years of playing at this level will put him in Cooperstown but that’s a long way to go and not a topic of today. What should be a topic is his 21-game hitting streak and the ease at which the Red Sox are winning ball games these days.

McDonald closes by saying:

Maybe we are witnessing a future Hall of Famer in Pedroia.

Well, whether we are or are we aren’t won’t be known for quite a while. Let’s just enjoy it while we can.

Wait. There’s more nonsensical Hall of Fame characterizations from ESPN today! Continue reading “Talking About HoF for MLB Players Under the Age of 28? Really?” →

FIFA Lets the Corruption Continue

July 23, 2011July 23, 2011Danny Vinik Leave a comment

FIFA officially banned Mohamed bin Hammam for life today after he was found guilty of bribing CONCACAF officials. It’s not that this outcome is bad. Bin Hammam deserved to be banned for life. However, the real crime is that Bin Hammam is just the fall guy in a sport full of corruption.

Corruption in soccer is the worst kept secret in sports. Bribery is commonplace and every major FIFA figure turns a blind eye to it. And it stayed this way until Bin Hammam recently decided to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA Presidency. Bin Hammam had won Qatar the right to host the 2022 World Cup and had the greatest chance of beating Blatter.

Blatter has been president since 1998 and won reelection in 2002 and 2007 unopposed. While rumors of bribery existed in 2002, they were not pursued as no country or individual had any incentive to challenge Blatter, the most powerful man in the sport.

Bin Hammam entered the race this year and was determined to unseat Blatter, who has become more and more unpopular. And in order to win, bin Hammam needed to be the better candidate – aka offer more money. This is where the story gets interesting. Two corrupt candidates running against each other with incentives to rat each other out: Continue reading “FIFA Lets the Corruption Continue” →

Copa America Has Been A Huge Disappointment

July 21, 2011Danny Vinik 1 Comment

When a team can reach the finals of a tournament without winning a game, there’s a problem. And that’s exactly what Paraguay did last night with its shootout victory over Venezuela. There were a grand total of zero goals in the game but there was a huge brawl afterward that turned the game from bad to embarrassing. Really? It’s the semifinals of a major tournament, no one score and the game turns into a battle after the PKs.

This was Paraguay’s second tie against Venezuela in this Copa America with the first coming in the group stage but at least that one ended 3-3. They also tied Brazil twice, 2-2 in the group stage and 0-0 in the quarterfinals where they advanced on penalties.

All in all, there have been 13 games that haven’t ended in a draw or penalty kicks. That’s out of 24 games so far. Nearly have the games have ended up as a draw, including two quarterfinal matches and one of the semifinals (and they went to PKs). Paraguay could actually win this tournament by scoring five total goals and not winning a game!

The top two teams, Brazil and Argentina, failed to advance past the quarterfinals and won just two games combined. During the whole tournament, there have been just 46 goals (less than two a game). And if you take away July 13 when there were 12 goals in two matches, that leaves 34 goals in 22 games. Continue reading “Copa America Has Been A Huge Disappointment” →